Mumbai city news: The 21-year-old, who has gone missing, could have had a major psychiatric or personality disorder, said a city doctor.

While the identity of the person who stabbed to death Deepali Ganore, the wife of a Mumbai policeman, on Tuesday night is still unknown, the police strongly suspect the murder was perpetrated by her 21-year-old son Siddhant, who has gone missing.

Mental health experts HT spoke to said that if Siddhant was indeed the killer, frustration and mental anguish may have driven him to commit the crime, judging by its brutality and the macabre message scrawled in blood next to Deepali’s body: “Tired of her. Catch me and hang me :).”

Dr Harish Shetty, a psychiatrist, said he was stunned by the brutality of the murder and added that if it had indeed been committed by Siddhant, “Such an incident could be a result of deep mental anguish or an undetected mental illness.”

He added, “It is difficult to say if he was depressed. One would have to speak to the boy to understand his mental state.” He added most victims of parricide (killing one’s own parent) are fathers. “Most often in such cases, people kill their fathers and not their mothers because more people are close to their mothers and see their fathers as distant. If the son is the killer, his motive will be clear once he is found and interrogated.”

Dr Shubhangi Parkar, head of psychiatry at KEM Hospital, said, “Frustration can lead to aggression, especially in young people. Parents should pay close attention if their children have trouble controlling their impulses and emotions.”

Referring to the note, scrawled in blood, Dr Nilesh Shah, who is associated with Sion hospital, said, “The killer could have a major psychiatric or personality disorder.”